


the inbetween

by rileyhart



Series: after the war [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Comfort, F/M, Some bed sharing, like that very night, lots of eye contact, right after the war
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-27
Updated: 2019-03-27
Packaged: 2019-12-25 07:42:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 731
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18256799
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rileyhart/pseuds/rileyhart
Summary: a little ficlet of the night when the war ends. ron and hermione stuff. bed sharing is involved. soft and sad kinda.





	the inbetween

**Author's Note:**

> okay i haven't written harry potter stuff since i was like 14 and then it was all on wattpad, so i hope this is good and you enjoy it! comments and kudos are very much appreciated x

It’s very strange to see the Gryffindor common room and dormitories so intact after everything that’s just happened. A couple of paintings have fallen down and some curtains have been torn from their posts, but that’s it.

People are settling down on couches and mattresses are being magicked and spread across the floor of the common room.

Ron wonders vaguely why people aren’t going home, but then he thinks about it. They’d have to move Fred’s body. And Remus’ and Tonk’s. They'd have to say goodbye to people. They’d have to make sure Hogwarts was going to be okay, that there’d be people to fix it back up. It occurs to him that they’ll probably be these people.

The whole thing just sounds exhausting, and like everybody else around him, he needs to fucking sleep.

Tonight is the night of the between. The war is over, but after the war doesn’t start till tomorrow.

The injured and most in need are given the beds in the dormitories, but everyone insists Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Neville also sleep in a bed, considering everything.

They refuse at first, but give into the insistence without much effort. They’re too tired to do anything else.

It’s Ron who shakes his head vehemently as he stands with his family. “No way, I’ll sleep here with you guys,” he says.

“Ron,” Arthur says, the tiredness weaved seamlessly into his voice, “go sleep in your bed. If the rest of us had that luxury, Merlin knows, we’d take it. You need this.”

Molly wraps Ron up into a hug and he feels tears spring into his eyes.

“We’re so proud of you, Ron,” Molly says, stepping away from her son, tears in her eyes too, “of all of you,” she adds to the others. “Now go sleep.”

Ron feels a hand that he knows belongs to Hermione slip into his, and he lets her lead him upstairs.

It feels so arbitrary to be back in their dorm room, but Ron has flopped onto his bed before he can process any of this.

They don’t really talk. There’s nothing to talk about. They’ve done the thing they set out to do.

They kick off their shoes and slink under their covers, hoping sleep will come as fast as they desire it.

Ron’s bed is in between Harry’s and Dean’s -- currently occupied by Hermione. He lies on his side, watching Harry, who has fallen asleep.

Ron wonders how he could be sleeping so soundly and then realises for the first time in his entire life Harry doesn’t need to fear Voldemort being in his mind as he sleeps.

Ron turns over to face Hermione. She’s awake. Watching him.

Their eyes hold one another's in the darkness. Hermione’s dark eyes reflecting the light of the moon and Ron’s pale eyes glinting in the night.

“I can’t sleep,” he croaks.

“Me either,” she whispers.

There’s a pause. Eye contact.

“Hermione?”

“Yeah?”

“Would you wanna, um…” his voice trails off, and he gestures at his bed, “just to, y’know, sleep.”

She gets out her bed without a reply and climbs into his like it’s second nature -- and it is, in a weird way.

They look at each other for a moment, closer than they’ve ever been, and Ron wants to kiss her. But he doesn’t.

Hermione turns around, and Ron moves hesitantly to spoon her. She pulls his arms around her and he nuzzles into the back of her neck. They shut their eyes. They let themselves revel in the other being so close.

They’ve never been so tired. It’s in their muscles; it’s in their bones. Their bodies are sinking into the bed and they let them gladly.

“Ron,” Hermione murmurs, breaking them from their near slumber.

“Mmm?” He keeps his eyes shut, half of him asleep.

“You’re holding just a little tight.”

“Oh,” he loosens his grip, “sorry.”

“It’s okay.”

A beat. Silence. She can hear a bird outside; the breathing in the room.

“Hermione?”

There’s a strain in his whispered voice and she turns around.

“What happens now?” He asks. The question fills the room.

She leans forward just enough to kiss him briefly and softly. A brush of lips to comfort.

Hermione looks at him. “I don’t know,” she replies honestly.

They fall asleep eventually, and Harry awakes before them. He watches them for a moment, feeling suddenly lonely.

**Author's Note:**

> tell me what you thought in the comments :)


End file.
